Packaged food material, stack, and packaged stack

ABSTRACT

A packaged food material includes a first container, a second container, and a food material. In the packaged food material, the opening portion of the first container is not closed. The packaged food material is such that when two or more packaged food materials are stacked, a bottom portion of the first container of one of the packaged food materials is located in the first container of another packaged food material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Applications No. 2017-045306, filed Mar. 9, 2017, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a packaged food material, a stack, anda packaged stack.

BACKGROUND

Examples of instant foods to be eaten after adding hot water are drinkssuch as miso soup, soup, tea, and coffee and chazuke. Many of suchinstant foods are distributed in a state in which a packet storing solidingredients or powder is stored in a moisture-proof container havingenough volume to add hot water, and the container is sealed with a coverbody. However, such a container requires an effort to take out theingredients or powder from the packet. In addition, the hands may soil,or the packet may be lost at that time.

Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-58760 describes a packaged foodmaterial including a cup whose bottom portion is recessed downward atthe center to form a first storage portion as a region above therecessed portion and a second storage portion in the recessed portion.The second storage portion stores soup, sauce, powder, or the like. Aninner cover is peelably provided on the opening portion of the secondstorage portion. The inner cover is provided with a pull-tab portionextending in a strip shape from the opening portion of the secondstorage portion to the opening portion of the first storage portion. Inaddition, an outer cover is peelably provided on the opening portion ofthe first storage portion.

Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-153996 describes atwo-liquid drink container as a packaged food material. In thistwo-liquid drink container, an auxiliary container is stored in a drinkcontainer. An auxiliary liquid is stored in the auxiliary container. Theopening portion of the auxiliary container is sealed with an auxiliarycontainer cover made of a material that is breakable when pressing astraw or the like against it. In the drink container, a main drink isstored in a region of the internal space other than the space where theauxiliary container is placed. The opening portion of the drinkcontainer is sealed with a container cover made of a material that isbreakable when pressing a straw or the like against it.

SUMMARY

In the packaged food material described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAIPublication No. 9-58760, since the pull-tab portion is provided on theinner cover, the hands hardly soil when taking out the contents of thesecond storage portion. However, since the first storage portion and thesecond storage portion are integrally provided, it is not easy toprovide the inner cover on the opening portion of the second storageportion.

Manufacturing the packaged food material described in Jpn. Pat. Appln.KOKAI Publication No. 2005-153996 is technically easy because theauxiliary container storing the auxiliary liquid and having its openingportion closed by the auxiliary container cover is prepared first andthen placed on the bottom portion inside the drink container.

However, when transporting the packaged food material described in Jpn.Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-58760 or 2005-153996, the packagedfood materials are stacked by placing the bottom portion of one packagedfood material on the outer cover of another packaged food material. Thisneeds a large storage space and increases the transport cost. Inaddition, when stockpiling the packaged food materials to prepare for adisaster or emergency or loading an aircraft with the packaged foodmaterials, it is necessary to stock the packaged food materials as manyas possible in a limited space.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a packaged foodmaterial capable of saving a space to stock.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda stackable packaged food material, comprising a first container havinga cup shape, a second container stored in the first container, and afood material sealed in the second container, wherein an opening portionof the first container is not closed, and the packaged food material isconfigured to be stacked such that a bottom portion of the firstcontainer of a certain packaged food material is located in the firstcontainer of another packaged food material.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda stack including a plurality of the packaged food materials accordingto the first aspect, which are stacked such that a bottom portion of thefirst container of a certain packaged food material is located in thefirst container of another packaged food material.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda packaged stack including the stack according to the second aspect, anda packaging material packaging the stack.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a packaged foodmaterial according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing the packaged foodmaterial shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a first containerincluded in the packaged food material shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a second containerincluded in the packaged food material shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing a stack formed bystacking a plurality of packaged food materials shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view schematically showing the packaged stack inwhich the packaged food materials of the stack shown in FIG. 5 areintegrated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same referencenumerals denote elements having the same or similar functions, and arepetitive explanation thereof will be omitted.

<Packaged Food Material>

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a packaged foodmaterial according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 isa sectional view schematically showing the packaged food material shownin FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a firstcontainer included in the packaged food material shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4is a perspective view schematically showing a second container includedin the packaged food material shown in FIG. 1.

A packaged food material 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a firstcontainer 10, a second container 20, and a food material 30. In thepackaged food material 100, the opening portion of the first container10 is not closed, and the packaged food material 100 is such that whentwo or more packaged food materials 100 are stacked, a bottom portion 12of the first container 10 of one of the packaged food materials 100 islocated in the first container 10 of another packaged food material 100,as will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first container 10 is a cup-shaped containerhaving an opening portion at the top. The first container 10 includes asidewall portion 11 and the bottom portion 12 and is tapered from theopening portion to the bottom portion 12. Projecting portions 13projecting to the internal space of the first container 10 are providedon the inner surface of the sidewall portion 11. The projecting portions13 will be described later in detail.

Examples of the material of the first container 10 are paper,polystyrene or polypropylene foam, and a laminated product thereof.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second container 20 is stored in thefirst container 10. The second container 20 includes a container body 23and a cover body 24, as shown in FIG. 4.

The container body 23 is a cup-shaped structure including a bottomportion 22 and a sidewall portion 21. As show in FIGS. 1 and 2, when thesecond container 20 is stored in the first container 10, the bottomportion 22 and the sidewall portion 21 face the bottom portion 12 andthe sidewall portion 11 of the first container 10, respectively.

The container body 23 has almost the same shape as the shape of theinner surface of the first container 10 near the bottom portion 12. Notethat the container body 23 may have a shape different from the shape ofthe inner surface of the first container 10 near the bottom portion 12.In the case in which the container body 23 has almost the same shape asthe shape of the inner surface of the first container 10 near the bottomportion 12, the risk that the food obtained by adding water or hot waterto the food material 30 enters the gap between the first container 10and the container body 23 and remains while a user eating can bereduced.

In addition, if a large gap exists between the first container 10 andthe container body 23, the air included in the gap may expand to pushthe container body 23 upward, consequently the second container 20 maybe unstably fixed in the first container 10. For this reason, the gap ispreferably small.

The container body 23 has a flange on the opening portion. The containerbody 23 has such a size and shape that the flange is located under theprojecting portions 13 (to be described later) when the container body23 is stored in the first container 10. For example, the diameter of theflange is larger than the diameter of a circle inscribed in a pluralityof projecting portions 13, and smaller than the inner diameter of thefirst container 10 just below the plurality of projecting portions 13.If the flange is provided on the opening portion, a cover portion 25 caneasily be sealed to the opening portion of the container body 23.

The container body 23 preferably has high barrier properties as comparedto the first container 10. Both the first container 10 and the containerbody 23 may have high barrier properties, for example, high gas barrierproperties such as high moisture barrier properties. However, the firstcontainer 10 is not required to have high moisture barrier properties.Hence, if, for example, among the first container 10 and the containerbody 23, only the container body 23 has high moisture barrierproperties, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared to a casein which both the first container 10 and the container body 23 have highmoisture barrier properties.

Examples of the material of the container body 23 are a polypropylene orpolyvinylidene chloride laminated material, an aluminum foil laminatedmaterial, and a silica or alumina-deposited material.

The cover body 24 includes the cover portion 25 and a tab portion 26.

The cover portion 25 closes the opening portion of the container body23. The cover portion 25 preferably has easy peeling properties andpeelably closes the opening portion of the container body 23. Inaddition, the cover portion 25 preferably has high barrier properties,for example, high gas barrier properties such as high moisture barrierproperties.

The material of the cover portion 25 is appropriately selected dependingon the adhesion target or contents. Examples of the material of thecover portion 25 are an aluminum foil-laminated material with an easypeel sealant material laminated, polypropylene, polyester, and paper.

The tab portion 26 projects outward from the edge of the cover portion25, and is formed integrally with the cover portion 25. The tab portion26 may be formed separately from the cover portion 25. In a case inwhich the tab portion 26 is formed separately from the cover portion 25,the material of the tab portion 26 is not particularly limited. However,the tab portion 26 preferably has such a strength not to rupture the tabportion 26 or the joint between the tab portion 26 and the cover portion25 when the second container 20 is opened by pulling the end of the tabportion 26. The tab portion 26 may be omitted. However, if the tabportion 26 is provided, the second container 20 can easily be opened.

The material of the tab portion 26 can be the same as the material ofthe cover portion 25 as long as it has an appropriate tensile strength.The material of the tab portion 26 may be different from the material ofthe cover portion 25. The material of the tab portion 26 is, forexample, polyester or polypropylene. The tab portion 26 may have a filmshape or a string shape.

In a state in which the second container 20 is stored in the firstcontainer 10, the tab portion 26 has such a length that the distal endpasses across the opening portion of the first container 10 when the tabportion 26 is extended toward the opening portion of the first container10 along the sidewall portion 11 of the first container 10. The tabportion 26 may have a length shorter than the above length. However, inthe case in which the tab portion 26 has the above length, it ispossible to hygienically open the second container 20 because the userneed not put the hand in the first container 10.

The second container 20 is fixed to the first container 10. Here, thesecond container 20 is locked on the first container 10. Morespecifically, the second container 20 is locked by being located suchthat the upper surface of the flange of the second container 20 comesinto contact with the lower surfaces of the plurality of projectingportions 13 projecting from the inner surface of the sidewall portion 11to the internal space of the first container 10. When the secondcontainer 20 is fixed to the first container 10, the second container 20never moves even in a case in which, for example, the user largely tiltsthe first container 10 upward during eating of the food.

The second container 20 may be fixed by one projecting portion 13extending along the inner surface of the first container 10. The secondcontainer 20 may be fixed to the first container 10 not by theprojecting portions 13 but by one or more recessed portions provided inthe inner surface of the sidewall portion 11.

The flange of the container body 23 may be omitted, and the secondcontainer 20 may be fixed to the first container 10 by providing astructure other than a flange. For example, the second container 20 maybe fixed by making a recessed portion or projecting portion provided onthe outer surface of the sidewall portion 21 of the container body 23and a recessed portion or projecting portion provided on the innersurface of the sidewall portion 11 of the first container 10 fit intoeach other.

As another means for fixing the second container 20 to the firstcontainer 10, for example, a means for fixing the second container 20 byfitting a projecting portion projecting from the inner surface of thebottom portion 12 of the first container 10 to the internal space of thefirst container 10 in a recessed portion recessed from the outer surfaceof the bottom portion 22 of the second container 20 to the internalspace of the second container 20 is usable.

Note that fixing of the second container 20 to the first container 10may be omitted if the user never uses the packaged food material 100while largely tiling it.

The food material 30 is stored in the second container 20.

As the food material 30, a liquid material, a semisolid material, or asolid material can be used. According to an example, the food material30 is a material obtained by drying water-containing food, for example,miso soup, other soup, or a drink such as a tea drink or a coffee drink.The water containing food can be dried by freeze-drying method oranother drying method. According to another example, the food material30 is an alpharized dried grain or instant noodles. According to stillanother example, the food material 30 is a seasoning such as miso.According to yet another example, the food material 30 is a concentratedliquid, for example, a fruit juice concentrated liquid or a coffeeconcentrated liquid. According to still another example, the foodmaterial 30 is a material such as dried tea leaves, which does not aimat being eaten but aims at producing a liquid of a component extractedfrom the material to water or hot water and providing it for drinking(to be referred to as an extraction food material hereinafter). The foodmaterial 30 may include two or more of the above-described materials.

<How to Use Packaged Food Material>

How to use the packaged food material 100 when the user eats it will bedescribed below. First, the first container 10 is fixed, and in thisstate, the tab portion 26 is pulled to peel the cover portion 25 fromthe container body 23 while keeping the container body 23 left in thefirst container 10. After that, water or hot water is added to thepackaged food material 100. As a result, the food material 30 stored inthe second container 20 absorbs the hot water or water or is diluted.Next, the packaged food material 100 is kept warm as needed to beeatable. The user eats the mixture of the food material 30 and the wateror hot water. For example, if the food material 30 is miso soup obtainedby freeze-drying, the user eats food changed to an eatable state byadding hot water.

<Modification of Packaged Food Material>

Various modifications can be made for the above-described packaged foodmaterial 100.

For example, the opening portion of the second container 20 may beclosed by a perforated member or mesh, and the cover portion 25 may beprovided on it. Here, the cover portion 25 and the perforated member ormesh are provided such that the perforated member or mesh remains on theopening portion when the cover portion 25 is peeled. The secondcontainer 20 having such a structure is suitable to store an extractionfood material such as dried tea leaves as the food material 30. When theperforated member or mesh is provided on the opening portion, theinternal space of the second container 20 can communicate with the spaceon the upper side without making the food material 30 flow out of thesecond container 20 even if the cover portion 25 is peeled. The userobtains an extract of tea leaves or fruit after adding water or hotwater and drinks the extract.

The position of the opening portion of the second container 20 is notlimited to the top and may be a side. If the opening portion is providedon the top, the food material 30 stored in the second container 20 caneasily be taken out. A structure with the opening portion provided on aside is suitable for an application purpose of extracting a componentfrom the food material 30 stored in the second container 20.

The container body 23 included in the second container 20 may includepartitions provided in a vertical direction with respect to the bottomportion 22. Such a structure is suitable for storing a plurality of foodmaterials 30 and makes it possible to store them without being mixed.

The opening portion of the container body 23 may be tilted with respectto the bottom portion 12 of the first container 10. In the secondcontainer 20 having such a structure, if the tab portion 26 projectsfrom the position of the cover portion 25 where the height of thesidewall portion 21 is small, it is easier to pull up the tab portion 26to peel the cover portion 25.

Note that the packaged food material 100 may further include a foodmaterial other than the food material 30 stored in the second container20. In this case, the food material other than the food material 30 isstored in, for example, a packet or the like. Accordingly the foodmaterial stored in the packet or the like can be added, for example,after water or hot water is added to the food material 30. Note that thepacket or the like is preferably fixed to the cover body 24, etc. toprevent from being lost.

<Stack>

The packaged food material 100 may be distributed solely, or a pluralityof packaged food materials 100 may be stacked and distributed.

A stack formed by stacking a plurality of packaged food materials 100will be described below.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing a stack formed bystacking a plurality of packaged food materials shown in FIG. 1. A stack200 shown in FIG. 5 includes the plurality of packaged food materials100 each having the above-described structure. The packaged foodmaterials 100 are stacked such that the bottom portion 12 of the firstcontainer 10 of a certain packaged food material 100 is located in thefirst container 10 of another packaged food material 100.

According to this structure, the height of the stack can be reduced ascompared to a packaged food material having the same structure exceptthat the first container 10 is provided with an outer cover. In otherwords, space saving in the height direction can be achieved.

In the stack 200 shown in FIG. 5, the bottom portion 12 of the firstcontainer 10 of a certain packaged food material 100 and the coverportion 25 of another packaged food material 100 are in contact. Thecontact between the bottom portion 12 and the cover portion 25 dependson the size of the first container 10 or the size of the secondcontainer 20. The bottom portion 12 and the cover portion 25 may be incontact or not. If the bottom portion 12 and the cover portion 25 are incontact, space saving in the height direction when stacking the packagedfood materials can be achieved more satisfactorily.

<Packaged Stack>

The packaged food materials 100 may be distributed in a form in whichthe stacked packaged food materials are packaged by a packagingmaterial.

A packaged stack formed by packaging the stack 200 of the plurality ofpackaged food materials 100 by a packaging material 40 will be describedbelow.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view schematically showing the packaged stack inwhich the packaged food materials of the stack shown in FIG. 5 areintegrated. A packaged stack 300 shown in FIG. 6 includes the stack 200,and the packaging material 40 that bundles the stack 200. Here, a shrinkfilm is used as the packaging material 40.

The packaged food materials 100 may be distributed without the packagingmaterial 40. However, if they are distributed in the form of thepackaged stack 300, the risk that the plurality of packaged foodmaterials 100 come apart can be reduced. That is, transportation iseasy.

Here, the packaging material 40 can integrate the packaged foodmaterials 100 of the stack 200. As the packaging material 40, forexample, a wrapper used to pack the stack 200 or a bundling materialused to bundle the plurality of packaged food materials 100 included inthe stack 200 can be used.

The wrapper is, for example, a film, a sheet, a cushioning sheet havingone or more air cells therein, or a bag made of them. For example, theenvelope material is a shrink film. When the opening portion of thepackaged food material 100 located at the uppermost position of thestack 200 is covered by the wrapper, or when the entire stack 200 ispacked by the wrapper, the risk of contamination of the packaged foodmaterial 100 by a foreign substance can be reduced.

The bundling material is, for example, a string, metal wire, band, ortape. If integrating the packaged food materials 100 of the stack 200 bythe bundling material, it is preferable to place a plate or the like onthe opening portion of the packaged food material 100 located at theuppermost position of the stack 200 to reduce the risk of contaminationof the packaged food material 100 by a foreign substance.

<Effects>

In the above-described packaged food material 100, the opening portionof the first container 10 is not closed. According to this structure,the packaged food materials 100 can be stacked such that the bottomportion 12 of a certain packaged food material 100 is located in thefirst container of another packaged food material 100. It is thereforepossible to achieve space saving and reduction of the transport cost.That is, the packaged food material 100 is suitable for stockpiling foodto prepare for a disaster or emergency or transporting food.

In addition, the food material 30 is stored in the second container 20,and the second container 20 is sealed. For this reason, if the secondcontainer 20 has moisture barrier properties, the first container 10need not have high moisture barrier properties. It is therefore possibleto achieve reduction of the manufacturing cost. When the user changesthe food material 30, it is only necessary to change the food material30 to be stored in the second container 20 to another food material.Hence, multi-product production is easy.

The packaged food material 100 is provided with the tab portion 26configured to facilitate peeling of the cover portion 25. When the tabportion 26 is provided, the user can peel the cover portion 25 bypulling the tab portion 26. It is therefore possible to open the secondcontainer 20 by one operation without soiling the hands. Furthermore,the second container 20 is fixed to the first container 10. Hence, theuser can eat food while largely tilting the packaged food material 100.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventionconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A stackable packaged food material, comprising: afirst container having a cup shape; a second container stored in thefirst container; and a food material sealed in the second container,wherein an opening portion of the first container is not closed, and thepackaged food material is configured to be stacked such that a bottomportion of the first container of a certain packaged food material islocated in the first container of another packaged food material.
 2. Thepackaged food material according to claim 1, wherein the secondcontainer includes a container body having a cup shape, and a cover bodythat closes an opening portion of the container body, and is stored inthe first container such that a bottom portion and a sidewall portion ofthe second container face the bottom portion and a sidewall portion ofthe first container, respectively.
 3. The packaged food materialaccording to claim 2, wherein the cover body includes a cover portionthat closes the opening portion of the container body, and a tab portionprojecting outward from an edge of the cover portion.
 4. The packagedfood material according to claim 3, wherein the tab portion has such alength that a distal end passes across the opening portion of the firstcontainer when the tab portion is extended toward the opening portion ofthe first container along the sidewall portion of the first container.5. The packaged food material according to claim 1, wherein the secondcontainer is fixed to the first container.
 6. The packaged food materialaccording to claim 5, wherein the second container is locked on thefirst container.
 7. The packaged food material according to claim 1,wherein the second container has barrier properties higher than those ofthe first container.
 8. A stack including a plurality of the packagedfood materials according to claim 1, which are stacked such that abottom portion of the first container of a certain packaged foodmaterial is located in the first container of another packaged foodmaterial.
 9. A packaged stack including the stack according to claim 8,and a packaging material packaging the stack.